Chapter 2 - Cali: Mysteries of the Force - Part A

Cali awoke peacefully from her Force Trace to once again find the Seeress sitting next to her in long grass and looking down over her stoically. "I...I just had to know if you survived." For the first time, the Seeress didn't seem sure on how to handle herself. "Not that I, uh, care for the well being of a foolish girl or anything, but you'll live - You're being cared for by the docs right now in fact. I was um...just slightly curious if you had made it after all." The older woman wasn't the best at hiding her worry over Cali. It was the first time Cali had seen such from the Seeress, but it was also the first day Cali was so close to the deathly abyss ever since......

Behind her wasn't the underground cavern and ruins Cali was used to - instead it was a wide open world Cali didn't recognize. It sported massive cliffs and slim waterfalls - one of which they were on top of-, wildly growing plants and forests, dim grey skies, and a whispering mist as far as the eye could see. Which wasn't that far - it wasn't real, another illusion from the Seeress no doubt - so a swirling barrier of force energy marked the edge of the dreamy place.

"You must have forgotten your lessons child...You can still feel even slight touches while in force trances and hibernation." The teacher offered the student a lopsided grin. "Not exactly a good thing when a surgeon gets to work on you. So I brought you here child - well, gave your mind something better to focus on - didn't want you don't wake up or feel anything. Saved you from your foolishness - as always" Now she was starting to sound less like a real person and more like the Seeress Cali was familiar with.

Cali wakes up without the disorientation that usually followed emerging in one of the Seeress' illusions. The Seeress herself was a welcome sight to the young woman, and she was pleasantly shocked to hear what must have been the first time ever that her mentor had stumbled over her words; even more so because it was because she had genuine concern. Cali was careful not to let her face betray her realisation.

Carefully she sat up, both to take in her surroundings and to see how much pain resonated from her physical self to her spirit self. Discreetly, she looked around the new vista that the Seeress had chosen. It was rare for her to get any glimpses into her mentor's life, but she had always suspected the places she chose for her illusions were important to her. With that assumption,

Perception: Dice Roll: 1d20+7 d20 Results: 10 (Total = 17)

she took in as much as she could about the surroundings, trying to see if any of her

Knowledge (Galactic Lore): Dice Roll: 1d20+8 d20 Results: 15 (Total = 23)

galactic studies as a child could shed light on where she was. Cali was desperate to know something, anything, about the strange spirit that had guided her through her most formative years. With the Seeress finished talking, and more or less returning to her more cantankerous self, Cali focused on her.

"Thank you." Was all she said with a smile, hoping her genuine gratitude for everything carried through. She reached out to try and squeeze the Seeress' arm, not even sure if it is possible, but she garnered that the intent would be clear enough.

Cali took another look at the vast world around them. A small heard of rancors roamed in the distance next to

a large, crashed starship of unknown design. She wasn't aware of any world that matched up--wait, were those people riding on top of the rancors? Her galactic studies never covered places like this. No - her galactic studies covered almost everything, this place just wasn't known to the galaxy at large. And then it hit her - it looked familiar to a planet that was actually very close to the Destiny's Rest. The planet didn't have anyone who rode around on rancors, and was definitely more hostile then what Cali was seeing in the illusion, but Cali had an inkling of a suspicion this was still Dathomir. She had read a few articles on it over the holonet because of it's proximity - the girl had pass right by it on her eventual way to the DR. It was a planet she had specifically avoided making a stop at after reading the seventh report about a colonist being eaten by a rancor.

"Yea well, don't think me just yet." The Seeress responded as Cali squeezed her arm. The older woman took a hold of the girl and lifted her up to her feet. "I need to teach you how to survive first." The seeress calmly explained, handing Cali a

training saber. "Take a moment to get used to the way it feels in your hands. We're going to start with some deflection basics." she encouraged; That's when Cali saw the training remotes laying on the grass off to the side.

GM: The training saber operates off Lightsaber weapon proficiency. Something to think about as you level up to level 2.

Cali smiled to herself as for the first time she had learned something about her mentor without cryptic layers to confuse her.

Maybe that's why I ended up on the 'Rest. She thought to herself. I wouldn't put it past her to manipulate me without my knowing. No malice came with that thought, just observation.

Cali took the saber and immediately it felt wrong. Cali was no stranger to weapons; her knife was a constant companion had saved her life many times she escaped from the invasion of her homeworld; but this was not like any she had ever wielded before. The main thing that was wrong was the balance. In every blade she had wielded, the weight balanced close to where she held it, and was distributed as evenly as possible. It was not the case here. All of the weight was in the handle, and a few awkward practice swings quickly showed to her that she was going to have to outright avoid wielding it like her knife.

Looking at the training remotes, and knowing her tutor, this was going to be a long training session.

Cali was right - it would be a long training session. Her first warning was from the force as a dark armored figure suddenly charged her from behind.

"I said we would work on deflection - never said anything about remotes. First lesson about survival child: Assumptions can get you killed. You must be on guard for the unexpected." The Seeress said from the sideline with an amused grin.

The dark figure lunged toward Cali, his lightsaber blade glowing a hot red from it's staff. It gave her precious little time to react.

GM: No map or init roll needed for this. It's abstract, freeform, and can be generally embellished in any way you want. Also, don't worry about keeping track of HP. It's all an illusion.

Cali acted on pure reflex,

Acrobatics: Dice Roll: 1d20+7 d20 Results: 9 (Total = 16) You said embellishments can be made...

rolling to her side. It was enough to get her out of the way of the saber, but she still ended up taking the full brunt of a body check from the dark figure. Years of practice meant that her only reaction was a painful grunt as she used the momentum of the check to get back onto her feet. Cali pounced at her enemy,

Attack with training saber: Dice Roll: 1d20-5 d20 Results: 18 (Total = 13)

awkwardly swinging with brute force rather than finesse as she tried to get used to the balance on the fly.

The armor the dark figure wore absorbed the blow from Cali's saber. Quickly, the sith guard

Dice Roll: 1d20+5 2d8+3 d20 Results: 18 (Total = 23) d8 Results: 1, 3 (Total = 7)

spun his saberstaff around, knocking Cali's saber away before bashing the solid end against her head. It didn't leave a bruise, outside of her ego, but it did sting. When Cali recovered, she noticed the figure was frozen but already in the process of making it's next attack.

Behind her, the Seeress sighed audibly. "No, no, no." With the swiftness only a mentor or parent can muster, the blind seer was soon next to the girl and giving her instructions. "You've got to redirect your opponent's energy: When he throws his weight and strength into a swing, he's not going to be able to change where it's going to land as quickly as you can. You've got to make him throw an attack where he'll leave himself open."

Cali looked up at the figure and saw that the illusion had 'reset' to repeat the last attack. The Seeress backed away. "Try it again! And don't worry about the strength of the blow. It's not a vibrosword, it's a lightsaber. You've got to rely on agility and trickery."

Cali felt thoroughly chastised by the Seeress, and petulance was her go-to emotion when that happened. She was being treated as if she had never fenced in her life, when she had been doing almost as soon as she could lift a vibrorapier.

"It's not a vibrosword..."

A half smile came to the corner of Cali's mouth. Even if it was, she wouldn't wield it how she was. She changed stance to a more familiar one and waited for the the figure to attack. She dodged the blow and

Deception: Dice Roll: 1d20+8 d20 Results: 12 (Total = 20)

goaded him into another one, hoping to make him overswing and leaving her the perfect chance for a well practiced,

2 x swift to aim

well aimed but still awkward,

Training Saber: Dice Roll: 1d20+3-4 2d8 d20 Results: 11 (Total = 10) d8 Results: 5, 5 (Total = 10) These dice were omitted, altered, or moved: 1d6 Original Dice: 1d20+3-4 1d6

lunge

I put two rounds worth of actions rather than break up her plan of attack. Also, forgot to save after changing the survival knife stats to the training saber's stats.

The Seeress commented from the sidelines, "The weapon doesn't end at the handle of the blade, the weapon itself is the entire warrior - not the just the fancy glowstick."

The armored guard had lunged passed her, leaving his back vulnerable but Cali's unstable attack was still off balance. It missed. He stopped short, reversed without turning around, and

Dice Roll: 1d20+5 2d8+3 d20 Results: 17 (Total = 22) d8 Results: 8, 5 (Total = 16)

slammed his back into her side.

Cali fell to the ground as the sith brought his weapon up to finish her. The illusion froze, again.

Behind her, Cali could tell the Seeress was less then pleased as the sith got another opening. "Do you need an easier opponent child?"

The Seeress always knew how to push Cali's buttons; now was no different. Now on her back, she rolled her legs towards her body, before using her anguish to fuel her

acrobatics:
Dice Roll: 1d20+8
d20 Results: 9 (Total = 17)
These dice were omitted, altered, or moved: 1d20+7
Original Dice: 1d20+7

launching herself back to her feet with an almost hand-less handspring.

"No." She tersely replied before adopting her ready stance. She barely waited for the figure to start moving again before she

Training Saber:
Dice Roll: 1d20+3-3 2d8
d20 Results: 11 (Total = 11)
d8 Results: 6, 1 (Total = 7)

attacked. The awkwardness of her attacks were beginning to be replaced by her usual, more self-confident strikes as she grew accustomed to the saber's exotic balance.